This was a calamity, pun intended.

First, that idiot who thought his armour was impossible to breach gets his ass handed to him, literally, I might add. He was torn apart by a couple of troll-like things two waves ago. The other two were not much better, even after the fact. Then the blockhead who only knows how to hit things jumps into a massive pool of zombies in the previous wave, and just now, the self-proclaimed ninja who thought that nobody could touch him, was proven wrong by the wave boss.

"Fuck!" I cursed out loud, jumping back as the massive walking tree with a jack-o-lantern face, and a body ON FIRE, smashed its fist in the ground where I just was.

I looked around me. This whole situation was hopeless. Most of the Kingdom's army had been utterly decimated in the last wave. It was no surprise to anyone that this one would likely be the end of us. Anybody who survives this one will surely die in the next, unless they get extremely far away. Everything around me was on fire, and there were monsters littering the horizon in every direction.

Ignoring the chaos around me, I spared a sad glance at the corpse of the loyal pegasus that I'd raised from birth, who'd been with me since almost the very beginning. He was a good mount, and an even better friend. I refused to look at the mangled carcass of what had once been the woman I'd come to love. Her purple hair and wolf-like ears were visible in the corner of my vision, and that was as far as I was willing to go. Ever since I'd stopped her bandit crew's raid on a village and defeated her in single combat, she'd been relentless in trying to get me into bed. It used to annoy me how often she'd try to seduce me, even after I succumbed to her charms, but now I'd give anything to hear her old attempts at flattery and seduction.

Shaking my head, I glanced over the bodies of my remaining party members and faced the flaming ent with a scowl.

Hellfire Ent Giant - Lv 127

I gripped the rifle in my hand tightly before bringing it up, placing my offhand on the barrel. The weapon's base was white, with a golden barrel, golden trigger and hammer, and gold straps on either side, a purple gem above the trigger on either side. Aside from the unique coloration, it looked like a simple flintlock rifle.

With little more than a thought, I summoned the power I'd been avoiding at all costs. The purple gem above the trigger glowed brightly, before the colour turned to a sickly green, and flames matching this colour engulfed my body as my usually grey eyes glowed the same sickly green. The rifle changed, the base turning into what looked like fossilised and mangled flesh, with green glows coming from between the crevices of the flesh, and the golden barrel turned pitch black, with sharp edges along the spine. It now looked more like a shotgun than a rifle.

Aiming the weapon at a portion of the monster army that surrounded me, I surrendered to the urge to pull the trigger, and as a result, a massive chunk of their numbers were taken down. At least a couple hundred, and then I did it again, with the same results. The Experience I gained from that was immense, but it cost me about 30% of my Health, and I wasn't exactly running on a full tank either. I didn't have to worry about what was behind me at least. That should paint a picture of how powerful this gun was.

With a bit of concentration, the gun transformed again. However, instead of becoming a different version of what I had, the form itself changed. I now held a revolver, with the same theme of mangled flesh and sickly green glow. In this form, it was significantly less powerful than the rifle, but more suited to closer opponents. This time, with each shot, a couple dozen monsters died, and I lost about 3% Health, and on top of that, the euphoria this weapon associated with causing death grew. By the time I dispelled this cursed power, an incredibly difficult thing to do, I was down to less than 10% Health, but only had to deal with the Ent and a couple dozen more monsters with him.

I'm honestly not quite sure what happened after that, the whole thing's a blur really, but I'm fairly certain I managed to kill the Boss.

Hellfire Ent Giant Rifle - Level 95
Bonus: +467 Weapon Damage, +352 Damage Resistance, +403 Aura, +291 Efficacy
Effects: Inflicts Burn(Hellfire)
Aptitude: 0%
Power: Unknown

If I wasn't certain before, that popping up in my vision certainly changed that.

Anyway, I blacked out at some point, just barely remaining conscious enough to remember the pop-up appearing after that, I just wanted to sleep. So, barely even aware of where I was or what I was even doing, I just closed my eyes and tried to doze off. Next thing I knew, my eyes were filled with a strangely familiar blinding light, and next thing I knew, I felt a massive weight pull me down. I struggled, and failed, to get up from my knees.

"It worked? It worked!" A voice cried, sounding both ecstatic and dumbfounded. Looking up, I was vaguely aware of being surrounded by a familiar assortment of cult-like priests, all standing along a summoning circle in the centre of the room. There was some speaking in the background, but I was trying to figure out what was going on and why I was feeling so heavy.

"Hey man, you doing OK?" A voice suddenly asked as I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw a young guy in a green hoodie. He had a shield on his arm. It couldn't be…

"I think so… I think I know what's going…" I murmured a reply, turning my attention to my status magic. I opened my equipment menu and switched out my gear for a simple pair of leather trousers, a pair of boots, and a grey tunic. With a glow, my gear changed to match what I'd just done, and the weight instantly disappeared. The shield kid recoiled in surprise. "That's better." I said with a relieved sigh.

It seemed I had indeed regressed to Level 1.

"This can't be… a fifth Hero?!" A voice whispered in shock, likely a lot louder than they'd intended.

"Does anyone mind catching me up?" I asked, ignoring the murmurs of shock.

"We were just saying how we don't appreciate being summoned against our will, and they were telling us they'd take us to see their king, who'd give us the answers we deserve." Said a young man wearing a red shirt, carrying a spear. He had long blond hair tied into an elegant ponytail, and he was about as tall as I am.

"Right…" I said, holding in a sigh that I wanted to release as I ran my hand through my shaven brown hair. I turned my attention to the priest/cultist who seemed like he was in charge here. "I know what's going on here. At least, I think I do. I think the best thing we can do is have your king explain the situation to them, then I can explain my presence." I told him.

"Oh, yes, right away." he said quickly "Thank you, Sir Hero." He said with a bow.

"You seem to know what's going on here." A teen holding a sword said to me. He wore a blue jacket, had pitch black hair reaching a little past his ears, not too different from mine when I was that age.

"This isn't the first time I've been summoned out of nowhere." I told him. "I'll explain when the King is done with his explanation." I said, following after the priest. The other four behind me followed suit.

XXX

"Yo, white guy."

When I was summoned the first time, I actually thought that I was in this world, and now I'm actually here. How interesting is that? The world I was summoned to had not been mentioned in the anime or light novels at all, which wasn't the most outlandish thing back then. Supposedly there are an infinite number of worlds, and I doubt the author and/or creators could include all of them in one series.

"Hey Yankee!"

I never actually thought I'd find myself in the OG Shield Hero world. Of course, that leaves a lot of questions in my head about how I should conduct myself here. There were a number of obstacles in my path in the previous world, and not all of them were monsters or Waves. I even rolled my eyes when the state religion started causing problems. It just seemed like such a common theme, and not one I wanted to deal with. Not that I had a choice, mind you.

And there's a number of problems to deal with here too. Dragons, rebellions, a cult that wants to take over the country, a brewing race war, a giant tortoise, a scheming princess and what have you. Sure, there's no guarantee it'll all be the same, but my memories from that media should not be invalidated.

"Hey! It's rude to ignore people you know!" The kid with the spear, Motoyasu, if I recall correctly, snapped at me, catching my attention.

"Sorry mate, I was a million miles away." I told him, shaking my head. Those thoughts could wait until later. "What were you saying?

"We were just talking about how beautiful the scenery was, and were asking what you think." Bow kid explained.

"That's for sure. It's like something out of a travel brochure." Shield guy said with a wide grin as he looked out of the windows, clearly very excited.

"Does that mean you never travelled outside of Japan?" Sword kid asked, his tone dull and practically emotionless, though still showing his mild curiosity.

"Uh, yeah, unfortunately." The shieldbearer said sheepishly.

"What about you?" Spear guy asked me. "Have you ever left America?" He asked.

"Firstly, I'm British, not American." I corrected him. I had the same issue with the other three Heroes in my previous world. They were all Japanese as well, weirdly. "Secondly, yes, I have left England several times. I've been to Africa, Australia, India, Singapore, and the US." I told them as we all approached a rather impressive and fancy door. I could only assume it would lead to the throne room.

I was right.

It was massive, to say the least. A bright white marble floor, a long red carpet leading up to the throne, where the king himself was sitting, several beautifully sculpted pillars holding the roof up, and luxurious stained glass windows. Soldiers lined the whole room on either side, right up to the throne. On the left hand side of the throne, the robed cultists who summoned us were gathered, and on the right, a small group of impeccably dressed people, nobles no doubt.

The five of us all lined up before the king as he introduced himself. Aultcray Melromarc XXXII. He certainly looked like a king, let me tell you that. Fancy robe, golden crown, the whole shebang. He was even quite old, creating an air of wisdom. He couldn't look more royal unless he sat on the throne of swords.

"Heroes, please name yourselves." The king spoke in a deep and regal tone, one befitting of royalty. I was at the left end of our line, so I went first in introducing myself.

"My name is Harrison Shepard. I'm 27 years old, and I was a Police Officer before I was summoned." I introduced myself.

"My turn? I'm Motoyasu Kitamura. 21 years old, a college student." Spear guy spoke.

"Ren Amakii. High school student, and I'm 16." Sword kid went next.

"Me next then. Itsuki Kawasumi, 17 years old, and also a high school student." Bow kid.

"Guess I'm last. Naofumi Iwatani. I'm a College student, I'm 20." Shield guy followed.

"Harrison, Motoyasu, Ren, and Itsuki, then?" The King asked.

"And Naofumi." Naofumi interrupted. "Uh, King… Sir… Your Majesty…" He added quickly, catching himself before he got too disrespectful. Points for trying at least.

"Yes of course, forgive me." The way the King said that was a clear indication to his true thoughts. At least if you knew what I knew.

Anyways, the King proceeded to give a run down on the predicament of his country, how the Waves of Calamity were prophesied long ago, and how the first one struck Melromarc a short while before our summoning, and though they were able to resist with the Kingdom's soldiers and lots of travelling adventurers, they still sustained heavy losses in both lives, and resources.

"We underestimated the potency of the waves. It was only after we experienced the full force of the first one, that we realised we could not defend against them alone." The King said, his tone and facial expression reflected the pain of his beloved country being afflicted so. I had to wonder how much of that was an act, if I'm being honest. "So, in the hopes of saving our beloved country, we followed the legend, and were finally able to summon the four of you." He explained, withholding the fact that he shouldn't have done so.

"Five." I thought to myself, but decided not to say anything.

A quiet moment passed and nobody said anything. Not until Ren decided to pipe up.

"The only question I have is if you expect us to do this for free." he said, regarding the King with a level look on his face.

"But of course not, Sir Hero." One of the cultists said with a bow. He stood next to the King's throne. "I can assure you that with each wave diverted, you will all be rewarded quite handsomely." He told us.

"Guess we have no choice but to accept." Motoyasu said, that cocky smirk from before returning. "Just as long as you don't go getting any ideas on trying to control us."

"Agreed. We can't have you looking down on us, can we?" Itsuki asked rhetorically.

"Yeah… What they said." Naofumi said unsurely.

"Very good then. Now, onto the next topic." Aultcray turned his attention to me. "Harrison was it? I was told you could explain your presence to us." He said, gesturing his allowance that I do so.

"Certainly, Your Majesty." I said, stepping forward. "And just Shepard will be fine, please." I received a nod in response. "Like these four here, I was summoned from another world to act as a Cardinal Hero, the Arms Hero." I said, holding up my weapon. It looked a little different now. Before, it looked like a flintlock hunting rifle, now it looked like a bolt-action rifle. It was still mostly white, with the only gold parts being the barrel, bolt-handle, and the trigger. "Of course, I was not initially summoned to this world." I explained. The king leaned forward a little bit, showing his interest.

"I'm not certain if you know this, but your world is not the only one to be plagued by the Waves of Calamity." I started. "Many worlds suffer from this plague, and many of them summon Heros from other worlds. I was one of them, along with my colleagues, the Brawling Hero, who used fist related weapons like brass knuckles and spikes, the Armoury Hero who could use any kind of armour, and the Blade Hero, who, I'm sure you can imagine, could use any type of bladed weapon." I shook my head slightly. They may have been idiots that caused me nothing but headaches, but they were my friends. One of them was only 14 for fuck's sakes…

"As I'm sure you do know, the Waves get stronger when a Hero dies." I went on. This information was clearly a surprise to the other four, and I saw a slight frown on the King's face, though he hid it well. I imagine he wanted to use that to make Naufumi's trial seem worse, but oh well. "Unfortunately, the other three Heroes in my world lost their lives, and in the most recent wave, I really thought I was going to die as well, but I managed to persevere and defeat the Wave Boss."

"A great deed." The King gave a nod of respect.

"Thank you." I returned it, if only for show. "Now, another thing I don't think anyone here knows, is that the Waves are portals. I don't know exactly where they lead to, but I'm quite sure it is where the Wave monsters come from." I explained. Numerous whispers echoed through the room as I spoke. "Truth be told, I think I may have actually died in the last Wave, but if I were guessing, I'd say it ended around the same time your people managed the ritual to summon these four." I gestured to the others. "It's not unheard of for Vassal Heroes to use the Waves to travel between worlds. Taking all of this into account, my best theory is that I died in the Wave, and right as the Wave ended, your summoning ritual may have picked up on my death, the same way it picked up on theirs." I getured my head to the other heroes. "And I ended up here as a result."

"How are you not dead then?" Naofumi asked, scratching his head. I think I may have lost a bit there. Motoyasu looked a little lost himself, more so than Naofumi, but the other two seemed to be keeping up.

"Either that works on the same principle as the initial summoning itself, or it has to do with the resetting of my status." I said. "When a person travels from one world to another, their stats, level, and skills all reset back to Level 1. My HP may have been reset to a Level 1 value, and, well, full." I explained.

"I understand everything you have explained to us, sir Shepard. It certainly does add up, theoretically at least." The King said after a moment of silence. "That being said, I would like to have some manner of confirmation." He told me.

"Completely understandable." I nodded.

"If you would please step forward?" He asked me. I complied as an elderly man, who stood among the nobles, started walking towards me. His attire is pretty much exactly what a priest would wear.

He stopped in front of me as I held the gun up for him to examine. He pulled out a monocle with a golden frame from his pocket and leaned forward to examine the gun as a faint green aura surrounded the monocle. The priest stood there for a few minutes, examining the riflel before standing up straight and pocketing it. He looked to the King and gave a single nod before rejoining the nobles.

"Your rifle has been confirmed as a Cardinal Weapon indeed." The King told me as I stepped back to rejoin the other four. "In that case, I would extend the same offer to you that I have to these young Heroes." He gestured to the other four, though I have a feeling that in his head he was only pointing to three of them. "All the same rewards and wealth if you fight for my kingdom." he said simply.

I was silent for a moment before speaking.

"I accept, Your Majesty." I bowed my head. Just my head. "I will fight the Waves that plague this world." I wonder if he noticed my wording.

"Excellent." He seemed satisfied. "Now that that is done, I would ask each of you to check your statuses." He told us.

"Wait, what?" Naofumi looked at me with confusion.

"Are you dense?" Ren asked the shielder with a raised eyebrow.

"There's no need for that, Kid." I said to the Sword Hero before turning to Naofumi. "You should notice an icon in the lower right corner of your vision." I told him. He looked around the general area I specified for a moment. I took the slight widening of his eyes as a sign that he found it. "Focus your attention on it for a second, and a menu should open up in front of you." I explained.

"Whoa!" He yelped as the menu did just that. Motoyasu was also a little surprised by the sudden appearance of the menu as he opened his, but he was more prepared than Naofumi, probably because he saw how he reacted. "What is this?" Said Hero asked of the King.

"It's called Status magic." The cultist, who was probably some kind of advisor, standing next to the King answered.

"Level 1? That's disconcerting." Ren said, looking at his status with narrowed eyes.

"Can we even fight like this?" Motoyasu asked thoughtfully, showing surprising insight for his character.

"Surely you didn't expect to have all the power you could ever need to be handed to you on a silver platter, did you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Noooo…?" Motoyasu responded, scratching his cheek with a sheepish smile. I had to roll my eyes again.

"I did mention being reset to Level 1 when travelling between worlds didn't I? That applies to the four of you as well." I shook my head. "We have to Level up and grow stronger from scratch."

"Quite right, Sir Hero." The advisor nodded. "You will each have to venture out in the world, defeating monsters and completing quests in order to gain experience and level up. That will allow you to evolve these Legendary Weapons you have been bequeathed."

"And then after that, we can form a party and-" Naofumi started, but was interrupted.

"That would not be advisable, Sir Heros." The advisor spoke, caring little for the annoyed look Naofumi sent in his direction. "Unfortunately, the four Cardinal Weapons repel each other and inhibit each other's growths when in close proximity. Each of you will need to recruit party members at your own discretion, and grow stronger separately."

Sure enough, right as the advisor explained this, a pop-up appeared in my vision explaining exactly that, as I expected it to.

"Since the sun is setting, you will all be allowed to rest here tonight and begin your adventures tomorrow." The King told us. "In the meantime, we'll have adventurers from across the country gather to form parties for the four of you." he went on.

"With all due respect Your Majesty, I'd rather start on my own, if it's all the same to you." I spoke up, much to the surprise of everyone here.

"Sir Shepard, I assure you, the adventurers we intend to bring here for you are among the best of the best. There is no cause for concern." He assured me, trying to look assuring, though he was probably trying to figure out what was going through my head.

"I appreciate that, Sire, but if you'll recall, I just completed a catastrophic Wave less than an hour ago, one I died in. My party was not in any better position than I was." His eyes widened in realisation. Many others seemed to pick on what I was saying.

"What? I don't get it?" Motoyasu scratched his head.

*WHACK*

Ren hit Motoyasu on the back of his head with an annoyed look, prompting a pained yelp from the Spear Hero.

"Read the room, you idiot." He told the spear-toting dumbass with a scoff. "All of his friends are dead. I doubt he's in the mood to be making new ones right now."

"Thank you, Ren." I said, only partially sarcastic. Though it was insensitively abrupt of him, I do appreciate the blunt approach.

"Are you sure though? You might be passing up a golden opportunity. There could be girls in your party! That'll make you feel better!" I wasn't surprised at Motoyasu's idiotic response.

"He's right, you know. There could be some really cute ones!" I gave Naofumi a tired look.

"You're both idiots." I shook my head. "We're summoned to deal with a literal calamity, it's in the name itself, the Waves of Calamity, and all you can think about is chasing after girls and what they have under their skirts." I scoffed with a scowl. I mean, I knew they thought that, but actually seeing it in front of me was just annoying. "Women and sex are the least of your worries right now, Kid. My advice, focus on your weapon." I told him. "And that goes for you too." I gave Motoyasu a sharp look. "Regardless, I stand by my request, Your Majesty." I said, turning back to the King.

"I understand, Sir Shepard. Different arrangements will be made for you." Aultcray said, getting the attention back on him. "For now, I will have the five of you escorted to your rooms." he said, snapping his fingers. As he did this, a young noblewoman wearing an elegant yellow dress approached.

"We have rooms prepared for each of you. Please Sirs, this way." She said, bowing respectfully.

XXX

The evening had passed by fairly uneventfully until dark. The five of us had some dinner and some small talk during and after. There were jokes at Naofumi's expense, but I tried to keep his spirits up. It was the least I could do. The other Heroes exchanged bits of information on their homeworld's games and the worlds themselves, figuring out that they were all from different worlds. Everything went by as expected. They tried to probe me for tips and information on how to strengthen themselves, but I was vague. I wasn't about to give that info away for free. I learnt how this game between the Heroes worked a long time ago. On top of that, I just didn't trust them with that information just yet.

Anyway, once we'd all gone to our separate rooms, I decided to go over my character sheet and figure out just where I stood.

Harrison Shepard
Arms Hero
Level: 1

Offensive Stats:

Weapon Damage - 67 - Increases damage dealt by weapon's fire

Power Damage - 61 - Increases damage dealt by Powers and raises Stamina and Stamina Regeneration

Aura - 56 - Increases effectiveness of Magic, and raises Mana and Mana Regeneration

Mobility - 51 - Increases movement speed, agility, and reaction time

Efficacy - 50 - Decreases cooldown times of Powers and increases speed and range of Powers' use

Defensive Stats:

Damage Resistance - 42 - Decreases incoming damage from external attacks, both Physical and Magical

Power Resistance - 39 - Decreases incoming damage from external Powers

Fortitude - 49 - Increases Health Regeneration and raises Health

Yeah, that seemed about right for Level 1.

So, obviously my system was not the same as the others. Where the four Heroes here had a system much like an MMO, my system worked like an RPG Shooter. Sure, like them I could feed materials into my to gun unlock new guns, and each gun would have stat bonuses, but the stat system was not the same. For one, the stats themselves were different.

Secondly, my stats don't increase when I Level Up.

Every time I Level Up, I get 2 Stat Points. Those Stat Points can then be used to increase two chosen stats by a certain percentage, or just one stat twice. The higher my Level, the higher the percentage.

Unlike the others, who's Classes determine their main stats, I have the benefit of choosing which stats are my strongest and weakest, based on how I want to fight. I could act as a Tank, like Naufumi, and specialise my Defensive stats, but I'd still be able to deal some damage. Or, I could prioritise my Mobility and Aura, playing magical support with a bit of damage here and there. Damage is going to play a part no matter what due to my weapon being a gun, but I can decide how big a part.

Downside is I can't that my stats don't go up as I Level up, save for the Stat Points. I have to find other ways of increasing them, or else my stats won't match up with my level, meaning I'll be in danger when it comes to enemies of similar levels to me. So, I need the best equipment I can get my hands on, as many weapons as possible, and whatever else I can use to increase my stats.

My preferred method is to keep them mostly well-rounded, but have my Weapon Damage and Mobility being slightly favoured above the others. Moving quickly has saved my life more than once, and Weapon Damage, which is just damage dealt by pulling the trigger, no matter what gun I'm using, is probably my most important stat. I pull the trigger a lot. Power Damage is probably just under those two. Where the Heroes here have Skills, like Naufumi's Air Strike Shield and Motoyasu's Chaos Spear, I have Powers. They're exactly the same thing, just with different names between the two systems.

And like most RPGs, I have Health, Mana, and Stamina. I think the other four have HP, MP, and SP, though. Mine didn't have a numerical value attached, they just showed a percentage. When my stats raise any one of them, they just mean that they drain slower. Also, I think SP stands for Skill Points, not Stamina. Again, same things, different names. Either way, using a Power or Skill would drain our respective Stamina or SP.

But, I'm rambling.

Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep, I simply lay in the bed for a little while after going through my status, before I finally just got up and took a walk through the elaborate halls of the castle. Say what you will about the royal family, they have good taste. This was truly a beautiful castle. I took in all the artworks and antiques they had on display, going out of my way to admire them. Honestly, I was just trying to avoid thinking about what my head was really drifting towards.

Eventually, I found myself walking through a large garden on a massive balcony. This garden was well taken care of. The flowers were beautiful, and though purple was the prominent colour among, there was some significant variety. Taking a breath, I decided to take a seat on a bench that was placed at the edge of the balcony, overlooking the City. Though it didn't compare to how bright cities were back home at night, I could see all the torches and braziers that were alight in the city. It was beautiful.

Finally, I could block it out no further.

Tears started welling up in my eyes as the images flashed through my head. My girlfriends body crushed under the foot of a giant flaming tree, my horse's broken and battered corpse being eaten by zombies before I shot them off in rage, my best friend turning into a zombie himself and attacking me, and the little kid, no more than 10 years old, being an prodigiously talented mage, having only joined my party a month before the wave, determined to do something, even the smallest thing, to make the wave easier. He was torn apart and eaten by some kind of snake creature.

A sob escaped me as my hands went to my face, before being followed by another, and another, and another, until I'd descended into an agonised fit of uncontrolled crying, with snot and tears pouring out between my fingers, but I was to distraught to care. I mean, honestly, can you blame me? Everyone I knew and loved was gone. Sure, my family back home was still alive and well, but who knows how long it'll be before I can see them again. The country I'd dedicated myself to protecting and fighting for had likely been razed to nothing by now, to say nothing of the ones my friends were summoned to.

I'm not sure how long I'd bawled my heart out, but I did eventually calm down. A bullet will land eventually. That was a saying they had in the kingdom where I was summoned. I don't know if this world is the same, but in the other one, the four biggest and most powerful countries in the world always summoned the same heroes. Obviously, the historical significance of the Arms Hero is where the saying originates from.

With a deep sigh, finally all out of tears, I brought a handkerchief out of my inventory and laid back, wiping my face and hands. When I was done, I looked to my right, and sure enough, there it was. The Cardinal Firearm was leaning against the bench. It always did that. Anytime I left it behind when going anywhere, it always appeared right at my side, ready to be used. The barrel was even facing down, leaving it in an optimal position to grab and aim it at a moment's notice.

With a snarl, I grabbed the weapon and stood up, glaring at it.

"Fuck you, you worthless, fucking piece of shit!" I found myself yelling at the top of my lungs before tossing it as hard as I could over the edge of the baloney like a javelin. I was breathing very deeply once I did so. Sure enough, as soon as I blinked, it was right back where it was the first time, even in the same position. "Don't fucking Weeping Angel me you bastard." I hissed at the infernal thing, falling back down onto the bench.

"You really shouldn't treat a Cardinal Weapon like that." A voice spoke behind me.

Instinctually, I grabbed the weapon, all negative feelings towards it tossed aside as it glowed and transformed in accordance with my will. Suddenly, I was holding a white and gold Desert Eagle, aiming it at the intruder. Normally I would have been able to detect someone sneaking up on me like that, but all of my Skills have been reset as well, including my Detection Skill.

Standing a short distance away, mostly concealed by the shadows of the garden's pillars, was a young woman with her face concealed by a hood, and a mask covering her eyes. I could barely see anything else beyond leather-looking stockings or thigh-high socks and a cloak attached to the hood that obscured her upper body.

"Just what I need." I said with a sigh. "A fucking Shadow." I narrowed my eyes at her. We had them in the previous world. They were always annoying. Can never tell what they're thinking.

"You know what I am. That makes things easier, I suppose." She commented offhandedly.

"Easier, she says." I scoffed as I holstered the pistol. One of the Cardinal Firearm's passive skills: the user always has a holster equipped to suit its current form. "As if dealing with Shadows is ever easy." I groaned as I leaned against one of the pillars and looked at her with crossed arms. "What do you want?"

"Simply to introduce myself as one interested in your wellbeing. Or rather, as a representative of one such person." She said simply. A lot more straightforward than I've come to expect from Shadows.

These people are a colossal mindfuck, honestly. This one alone is already giving me a headache. I already knew that the other four were not supposed to be in one country, and I'd know that even if I hadn't watched the anime, since I was summoned to one of four kingdoms myself with the other three being summoned by the others. Aultcray probably knows I'd be suspicious, so maybe he sent her. Or maybe the Queen has already heard of my arrival with the other heroes, Shadows carry information very quickly after all, and wants to get a read on whether or not I'll be an ally to her and her people. Hell, the fucking Church might have sent her, fearing that I may be a 'devil' like the Shield Hero, and sent her to investigate. There's no way to know. Of course, I see no reason why anyone other than the Queen would have her actually talking to me.

"That's exactly what someone who wants to use me to their own ends would say." I said with a tired sigh. "Then again, that's exactly what someone who is interested in my wellbeing would say as well." I grumbled.

The smile this Shadow gave me was infuriating.